Local lifeline going strong

Recovery efforts still link Capital Region with Staten Island

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Image 1of/2

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 2

From left to right, William Burdick, district operation manager for Home Depot, Scott Raymond, Home Depot Latham Farms store manager, Lorenzo Hodges, director, Jezreel International, Chris Schultz, with Upstate New York Cares and Thomas Cunsolo, on the board of directors of the Staten Island Community and Interfaith Long Term Disaster Recovery Organization, all pose for a photograph near just some of the home and building items that are heading to Staten Island, on Monday, April 15, 2013 at Jezreel International in Colonie, NY. The Capital area Home Depot stores are donating $45,000 dollars worth of supplies a month for the term of the project. Cunsolo, who lives in Long Island, lost his home and his cars in the storm. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

From left to right, William Burdick, district operation manager for Home Depot, Scott Raymond, Home Depot Latham Farms store manager, Lorenzo Hodges, director, Jezreel International, Chris Schultz, with Upstate ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Image 2 of 2

A view of just some of the home and building items that are heading to Staten Island, on Monday, April 15, 2013 at Jezreel International in Colonie, NY. The Capital area Home Depot stores are donating $45,000 dollars worth of supplies a month for the term of the project. The Desmond Hotel has donated furniture and other items. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

A view of just some of the home and building items that are heading to Staten Island, on Monday, April 15, 2013 at Jezreel International in Colonie, NY. The Capital area Home Depot stores are donating $45,000 ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Local lifeline going strong

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

Colonie

Tropical Storm Sandy may have faded from the headlines, but it is a fresh reality to the many people in Staten Island whose homes remained ruined nearly six months later.

On Monday, a tractor-trailer of donated supplies — including building materials, tools and appliances — pulled out of Colonie warehouse on its way to Staten Island and people still trying to rebuild their lives.

"Six months after the storm, we are still doing demolition," said Farid Kader, of Yellow Boots, a volunteer group that helps Staten Island homeowners rebuild.

During an event at The Desmond, Kader showed pictures of water-damaged homes now afflicted with mold outbreaks. Mold spores from such homes now are drifting through the air to contaminate other homes, Kader added.

The rebuilding supplies are part of an effort by Upstate New York Cares, headed by Albany resident Christine Schultz; Jezreel International, an Albany-based religious charity; nine local Home Depot stores; and the charity Feed the Children.

More Information

hed here

Learn more on how to help recovery and rebuilding efforts on Staten Island at http://sisandyhelp.org/

Helping Staten Island

Learn more on how to help recovery and rebuilding efforts on Staten Island at http://sisandyhelp.org/

Schultz said she was moved to help after the October storm, when she saw Facebook pages of people who suffered from the loss of homes and belongings. She started with a $500 donation from the Mohawk Valley Kennel Club.

"I did not know anyone in Staten Island when I started this, but I was moved by what I saw," Schultz said. Jezreel has coordinated more than a dozen aid shipments since then, said Lorenzo Hodges, procurement director. "In the beginning, it was things like blankets, water, food, clothes .. now we are shipping flooring, tools, bathroom fixtures, things like that."

This is the fourth shipment that Home Depot has donated to the rebuilding effort, said William Burdick, district operations manager for the company. The effort originated at the Home Depot in Latham Farms and expanded to include another eight stores in the region, he said.

He said thousands of people remain on lists seeking help rebuilding their homes. One of those is Cunsolo himself, who is living in an apartment as he negotiates with his insurance company on a claim to have his home repaired. "We really appreciate this link between Staten Island and Albany."

Staten Island was hit hard by Sandy: of the 43 deaths in New York City from the storm, 23 were in Staten Island. Months later, some damaged vacant houses have attracted squatters and looters.